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Serving Gay Men and Women
throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region
Seventh Year
Number Five
May, 1976
Southwest Cinellla Closes
Under Police Pressure
WASHINGTON - The Southwest
Cinema Club, a popular movie theater
which featured all-male sex films, has
fallen victim to police harassment and ·
closed its doors.
For several months the D. C. Police
Department has been conducting raids
against private film clubs for gay men.
The police have cooperated with the U. S.
Attorney's Office in obtaining information
on which warrents are prepared, and
serving the warrents for the U. S. At­torney's
Office. The D. C. Police Depart­ment
is under the jurisdiction of the Mayor
of Washington, D.C.
On March 19, a raid was {!Onducted
against Southwest Cinema Club at the
exact time a Gay Activists Alliance
delegation was meeting with Mayor
Walter Washington and Assistant Chief of
Police Theodore Zanders to discuss police
relations with the gay community.
Outraged by the ironic event,
organizations and individuals of the gay
community including Dr. Franklin
Kameny, member of the D. C. Human
Rights Commission, forwarded letters to
Mayor Washington demanding an end to
the raids. Dr. Kameny told the Blade that
follow-up discussions with members of the
Mayor's staff made it apparent that the
Mayor will not order the D. C. police to
discontinue coopf>rating with the U. S.
Attorney's Offl..:t. on the raids. The
Mayor's staff also indicated to Kameny
that "outside pressure" was being placed
on the Mayor regarding hardcore por­nography
in the District. They declined,
however, to name the source of the
pressure.
A variety of reasons have been provided
as the motivation behind the raids. These
range from the idea of a "Bicentennial
Cleanup'' to the latest report in
Newsworks that the raids are "a reaction
to expansion of organized crime in­volvement
in Washington's sex film in­dustry."
Entrance of former Southwest Cinema Club
For whatever reasons, the continued
police harassment of the private-mm clubs
has culminated in the actual closing of a
movie house. On April 12, representatives
of Southwest Cinema met with Assistant
Chief of Police Zanders to discuss the most
recent raid on the theater. Zanders
Kameny
to Rights
Reappointed
CoIDIDission
WASHINGTON - Last year Mayor
Walter Washington appointed Dr.
Franklin Kameny, President of the
Mattachine Society of Washington, to
complete a vacated term on the D.C.
Human Rights Commission. In March of
1976. Kameny was reappointed to 11 term,
ending December 31, 1979, on the Com­mission.
Kameny has indicated to the Mayor that
the Commission's work will be top priority
out of all his gay activist involvements.
The Human Rights Commission is
responsible for the enforcement of Title 34
which has a provision prohibiting
discrimination against persons based on
their sexual preferences. It has powers to
issue orders having force of the law
within the framework of Title 34, set
•minor fines, provide for jail terms, assess
compensatory damages, and direct the
suspension of n.unicipal licenses that
offenders hold.
Kameny told the Blade what the ap­pointment
means to him. "All my life I
have hated and fought discrimination,
prejudice, and bigotry of any form. Title 34
is a powerful law and the appointment to
the commission allows me to make inroads
against discrimination toward gays
present in the District." Kameny went on
to say, however, that "there have been all
too few gay discrimination cases brought
to the Human Rights office. It is up to the
gay community to use the law. If gay
people have a case, don't hesitate to come
to the office."
reiterated his policy of continuing the
raids and also indicated that prosecution
would begin to occur. In comparing the
legal expenses involved in fighting the
charges and the income the theater was
generating, the owner of Southwest
Cinema decided to close.
At a GAA meeting on April 13, concern
was raised about the continuing raids
against the theaters. In particular, in­dividuals
at the meeting began
questioning whether or not the
prostitution, perversion and ob>cenity
squad-a plain clothes squad which in the
past has trapped and arrested gay men
for solicitation or attempted sodomy-had
actually been disbanded. As reported in
the August 1975 Blade, a request from
GAA for funding the Gay Men's VD Clinic
and the Human Rights Office and Com­mission
resulted in the D. C. City Council
abolishing the PP&O Squad by slicing the
vice squad from the 1976 fiscal budget. The
budget subsequently was passed on to
Congress for approval after the City
Council over-rode the mayor's opposition
and veto of, among other proposals, the
elimination of the PP&O Squad. Also at
stake are sopie segments of the gay
community's appraisal of the Mayor's
sincerity in developing good relations with
gays.
On April 25, Dr. Kameny received a
letter from the Mayor reaffirming
agreements made during the March 19
meeting with the gay delegation on issues
other than the theater raids. As for the
theater issue, the Mayor indicated the
police were cracking down equally on gay
and heterosexual porno and that the gay
establishments were not being singled out.
Some members of the gay community,
including Kameny, are taking the stand
that they have the right to be consumers of
gay porno films. Thus, if the raids continue
on the remaining open theaters and some
gay men continue to insist they have a
right to see the films, a public con­frontation
of some sort may result.
Gay Delegate
Elected to
Convention
(Courtesy of the National
Gay Task Force)
NEW YORK - Jean O'Leary,
Legislative Director of the National Gay
Task Force, was elected in the Apr. 8 New
York Primary as the first openly gay
delegate to the 1976 Democratic National·
Convention.
Running on the Udall slate headed by
Congresswoman Bella Abzug in
Manhattan's 20th Congressional District,
O'Leary received the fourth largest·
number of votes cast, although she was
listed fifth on the ballot.
"This excellent showing," O'Leary said,
"not only proves that my candidacy as an -
avowed lesbian-feminist did not hurt the
slate, as some political observers had
predicted, but that a significant gay vote
was cast which helped to assure victory for
all the Udall delegates· and alternates in
the district."
O'Leary's campaign, she pointed out,
•'was a concerted effort by members of the
New York gay and feminist communities
interested in making sure we have a voice
at the National Convention." More than
150 volunteers worked over a three-week
Convention Delegate Jean O'Leary. Photo by John
Gamble
period, leafleting, hanging posters in the
gay and feminist bars, restaurants, and
continued on page 8

Serving Gay Men and Women
throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region
Seventh Year
Number Five
May, 1976
Southwest Cinellla Closes
Under Police Pressure
WASHINGTON - The Southwest
Cinema Club, a popular movie theater
which featured all-male sex films, has
fallen victim to police harassment and ·
closed its doors.
For several months the D. C. Police
Department has been conducting raids
against private film clubs for gay men.
The police have cooperated with the U. S.
Attorney's Office in obtaining information
on which warrents are prepared, and
serving the warrents for the U. S. At­torney's
Office. The D. C. Police Depart­ment
is under the jurisdiction of the Mayor
of Washington, D.C.
On March 19, a raid was {!Onducted
against Southwest Cinema Club at the
exact time a Gay Activists Alliance
delegation was meeting with Mayor
Walter Washington and Assistant Chief of
Police Theodore Zanders to discuss police
relations with the gay community.
Outraged by the ironic event,
organizations and individuals of the gay
community including Dr. Franklin
Kameny, member of the D. C. Human
Rights Commission, forwarded letters to
Mayor Washington demanding an end to
the raids. Dr. Kameny told the Blade that
follow-up discussions with members of the
Mayor's staff made it apparent that the
Mayor will not order the D. C. police to
discontinue coopf>rating with the U. S.
Attorney's Offl..:t. on the raids. The
Mayor's staff also indicated to Kameny
that "outside pressure" was being placed
on the Mayor regarding hardcore por­nography
in the District. They declined,
however, to name the source of the
pressure.
A variety of reasons have been provided
as the motivation behind the raids. These
range from the idea of a "Bicentennial
Cleanup'' to the latest report in
Newsworks that the raids are "a reaction
to expansion of organized crime in­volvement
in Washington's sex film in­dustry."
Entrance of former Southwest Cinema Club
For whatever reasons, the continued
police harassment of the private-mm clubs
has culminated in the actual closing of a
movie house. On April 12, representatives
of Southwest Cinema met with Assistant
Chief of Police Zanders to discuss the most
recent raid on the theater. Zanders
Kameny
to Rights
Reappointed
CoIDIDission
WASHINGTON - Last year Mayor
Walter Washington appointed Dr.
Franklin Kameny, President of the
Mattachine Society of Washington, to
complete a vacated term on the D.C.
Human Rights Commission. In March of
1976. Kameny was reappointed to 11 term,
ending December 31, 1979, on the Com­mission.
Kameny has indicated to the Mayor that
the Commission's work will be top priority
out of all his gay activist involvements.
The Human Rights Commission is
responsible for the enforcement of Title 34
which has a provision prohibiting
discrimination against persons based on
their sexual preferences. It has powers to
issue orders having force of the law
within the framework of Title 34, set
•minor fines, provide for jail terms, assess
compensatory damages, and direct the
suspension of n.unicipal licenses that
offenders hold.
Kameny told the Blade what the ap­pointment
means to him. "All my life I
have hated and fought discrimination,
prejudice, and bigotry of any form. Title 34
is a powerful law and the appointment to
the commission allows me to make inroads
against discrimination toward gays
present in the District." Kameny went on
to say, however, that "there have been all
too few gay discrimination cases brought
to the Human Rights office. It is up to the
gay community to use the law. If gay
people have a case, don't hesitate to come
to the office."
reiterated his policy of continuing the
raids and also indicated that prosecution
would begin to occur. In comparing the
legal expenses involved in fighting the
charges and the income the theater was
generating, the owner of Southwest
Cinema decided to close.
At a GAA meeting on April 13, concern
was raised about the continuing raids
against the theaters. In particular, in­dividuals
at the meeting began
questioning whether or not the
prostitution, perversion and ob>cenity
squad-a plain clothes squad which in the
past has trapped and arrested gay men
for solicitation or attempted sodomy-had
actually been disbanded. As reported in
the August 1975 Blade, a request from
GAA for funding the Gay Men's VD Clinic
and the Human Rights Office and Com­mission
resulted in the D. C. City Council
abolishing the PP&O Squad by slicing the
vice squad from the 1976 fiscal budget. The
budget subsequently was passed on to
Congress for approval after the City
Council over-rode the mayor's opposition
and veto of, among other proposals, the
elimination of the PP&O Squad. Also at
stake are sopie segments of the gay
community's appraisal of the Mayor's
sincerity in developing good relations with
gays.
On April 25, Dr. Kameny received a
letter from the Mayor reaffirming
agreements made during the March 19
meeting with the gay delegation on issues
other than the theater raids. As for the
theater issue, the Mayor indicated the
police were cracking down equally on gay
and heterosexual porno and that the gay
establishments were not being singled out.
Some members of the gay community,
including Kameny, are taking the stand
that they have the right to be consumers of
gay porno films. Thus, if the raids continue
on the remaining open theaters and some
gay men continue to insist they have a
right to see the films, a public con­frontation
of some sort may result.
Gay Delegate
Elected to
Convention
(Courtesy of the National
Gay Task Force)
NEW YORK - Jean O'Leary,
Legislative Director of the National Gay
Task Force, was elected in the Apr. 8 New
York Primary as the first openly gay
delegate to the 1976 Democratic National·
Convention.
Running on the Udall slate headed by
Congresswoman Bella Abzug in
Manhattan's 20th Congressional District,
O'Leary received the fourth largest·
number of votes cast, although she was
listed fifth on the ballot.
"This excellent showing," O'Leary said,
"not only proves that my candidacy as an -
avowed lesbian-feminist did not hurt the
slate, as some political observers had
predicted, but that a significant gay vote
was cast which helped to assure victory for
all the Udall delegates· and alternates in
the district."
O'Leary's campaign, she pointed out,
•'was a concerted effort by members of the
New York gay and feminist communities
interested in making sure we have a voice
at the National Convention." More than
150 volunteers worked over a three-week
Convention Delegate Jean O'Leary. Photo by John
Gamble
period, leafleting, hanging posters in the
gay and feminist bars, restaurants, and
continued on page 8